Perspective on Methods of Assessing Fire Hazards in Buildings

Present fire protection regulations are based on fire classifications of materials obtained from standard laboratory tests and on simplified methods of estimating building fire loads. The history of, and philosophy behind, present fire resistance test methods are examined and the relevancy of the fire load and noncombustibility concepts to conditions actually encountered in the field are discussed. Information needed to improve methods of assessing fire hazard and to achieve more effective fire protection regulations is identified.